Differences between bikes

I recently added a Winsdor Leeds road (sport) bike to my Specialized HR and Lemond BA, giving me 3 bikes. I wanted a "beater bike" for putting in my hatch back for after work rides next spring.

I now have about 100 miles on the Winsdor.

I have always believed that the Lemond BA (which 4 years ago cost about $1,500 fully equipped) was a good bike, and that it probably was not worth my time to get anything less than a similar cost bike.

I got the Winsdor brand new on EBAY for $290 - and I took a big chance on the fit.

Granted it is Sora and weighs a couple of pounds more than the Lemond. It will probably wear out more quickly.

But, I have been most pleasantly surprised by the feel of the Winsdor. It fits me pretty well, goes quite fast, rides nicely, shifts easily, corners nicely.

No, it is not as nice as the Lemond. The frame is not as nicely constructed. But, for the money, it gives an awful lot of value. I would not hesitate to suggest it as a beginning road bike for someone who did not want to invest a lot into an upper-end road bike, but still wanted to get a feel for a road bike.

A month ago, I would never have believed I would write a posting like this.

I purchased a Univega street bike on Ebay for $110.00 dollars. It has 700 cc wheels and the frame is chromoly. This bike outperformed the Bianchi Milano I purchased new for $700.00 dollars!

The chromoly frame is incredible and my next bike from Bianchi will have to be steel. I feel almost bad buying the Milano as it cost me so much but the alu frame gives it a harsh ride. I added a Brooks saddle with springs and suspension seat post to the Milano to soften the ride! Seriously. If I had to make the purchase again, it would have been a steel street bike all the way! It goes to show that cycling is a learning experience.

I really miss my 1977 double-butted lugged steel Fuji S-10-S frame. Both seat stays broke a couple of years ago and instead of having the frame welded, I rebuilt the bike on a different frame, and unfortunately failed to keep the original frame. It's just not the same smooth ride anymore.

Also, I agree with Dahon.Steve -- many of the new aluminum frames ride really harshly, that's really the only reason the manufacturers have started equipping bikes with suspension forks and suspension seatposts, but they sell it to *consumers* by making it sound like you're getting something new and special...anyway, the added weight of the suspension components just about negates whatever weight was saved by using aluminum instead of steel in the frame in the first place...

Granted it is Sora and weighs a couple of pounds more than the Lemond. It will probably wear out more quickly.

Weld/Build quality asside, theres no reason to think that a lower end component group will wear out quicker than say Ultegra or Dura-Ace. In fact, especially between Ultegra/XT and Dura-Ace/XTR, I would say that the Ultegra/XT would last longer than Dura Ace/XTR which is more geared to just shaving grams and being lighter at the expense of more money and less durability. Ti cogs versus AL cogs, etc. etc.

What you will notice is how fast your BA shall feel after riding the heavier bike, I commute to work on a MTB with a pannier. The few times I ride my road bike with a much smaller and aerodynamic pannier (more like a trunk bag, rather than a pannier), I feel like David Millar in the '03 TdF prologue (sans the chain problem ) so after a couple hundred miles in the Windsor, taking the BA out for a spin will feel fast (and probably will be faster)

I am sure the BA will be faster. I also know that the mtn bike will be the slowest.

Now that I am okay with the Windsor, I have set it up as my trainer for the winter, and will be using the BA and Mtn for when the weather, work schedule, darkness, etc., allows me to ride - today for example!